Rios pleads guilty to locking disabled son in hot closet

A Lubbock woman accused of locking her disabled son in a closet last summer pleaded guilty to child abandonment Monday in the 237th district Judge Sam Medina's court.

Defense and prosecuting attorneys couldn't agree on a penalty for Elizabeth Rios, and both sides planned to present pre-sentencing witnesses today. Punishment for child abandonment, a second-degree felony, ranges from 2 to 20 years in a state penitentiary and a fine up to $10,000. Rios, however, is eligible for probation.

She is likely to be among today's witnesses, said Everett Seymore, one of her defense attorneys.

Rios, 32, confessed to Lubbock Police Detective Bill Hurt that she left her son, John Rios, in her apartment after an argument with her live-in boyfriend, according to Hurt's testimony Monday. He said she told him she placed the child in a closet and then left to look for her boyfriend. When she returned, her 12-year-old son was gone.

Medina hasn't yet admitted the confession, saying he'll wait to hear Rios describe her state of mind during the confession before he rules on its admissibility. With her guilty plea, Rios waived a jury's verdict and sentencing. Medina accepted her plea and will rule on her punishment.

On the stand, Hurt said Rios was ''crying, teary-eyed,'' and ''nervous'' during her confession but was aware of what was happening.

Seymore argued that Hurt didn't know if Rios had medical problems or was taking medicine. He added that Hurt is not trained to determine a person's sense of reality.

Last May, police found Rios' son after a neighbor flagged down an police officer who was at the University Arms Apartments on another call. The child suffers from a genetic and often fatal degenerative disease.

Hurt said he arrived after emergency medical staff had taken the boy to the hospital. He said the inside of the apartment was hotter than the outdoors and the closet where the boy had rested was hotter than the rest of the home.

Seymore said after Monday's hearing that Rios had hired a baby-sitter for John the night she went to a graduation party with her boyfriend, but the woman fled when police arrived with a warrant for her arrest. The defense investigator hasn't found the woman.

Seymore said that ''technically'' Rios is guilty but only because she paid an unreliable person to watch her son.

Nevertheless, the child wasn't hurt and a doctor said the child's sickly appearance when police arrived was consistent with his illness, Seymore said.

John is now living with an aunt. His mother is in the Lubbock County Jail.

Assistant Criminal District Attorney Brenda Cantu said prosecutors believe their evidence will prove Rios deserves the maximum 20 years of jail time.

Rios was charged in a two-count indictment. A child endangerment charge was dismissed with her plea.

In another case set for this week, visiting district Judge Ron Enns will preside over the murder trial of Juan Govea, a 37-year-old accused of shooting his neighbor. Jury selection in Govea's case is scheduled to begin today.

Deon Daugherty can be contacted at 766-8759 or ddaugherty@lubbockonline.com